Gregory v. City of Alachua

553 So. 2d 206, 1989 WL 128068
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedOctober 30, 1989
Docket87-1549
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 553 So. 2d 206 (Gregory v. City of Alachua) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gregory v. City of Alachua, 553 So. 2d 206, 1989 WL 128068 (Fla. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

553 So.2d 206 (1989)

Peter F. GREGORY and Mary Gregory, Husband and Wife, Appellants,
v.
CITY OF ALACHUA, Ernest A. Spencer, Jr., and Michael H. Spencer, Appellees.

No. 87-1549.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

October 30, 1989.
Rehearing Denied December 22, 1989.

Melissa Jay Murphy of Holden, Murphy & Eubank, Gainesville, for appellants.

Neil A. Malphurs of Malphurs & Brown, Alachua, for appellee City of Alachua.

A. Bice Hope, Gainesville, for appellees Spencer.

ERVIN, Judge.

Appellants, Peter F. Gregory and Mary Gregory (Gregorys), seek review of a final judgment entered in favor of the defendants below, the City of Alachua (City), Ernest A. Spencer, Jr., and Michael H. Spencer (Spencers), in their suit challenging two development orders issued by the City. Because of inconsistencies in the pleadings, trial and judgment, we reverse and remand.

The Gregorys and Spencers are neighboring landowners. The Spencers petitioned the City to have two parcels rezoned, one from agricultural to commercial and the other from agricultural to mobile home park. The City granted the Spencers' petition and entered two developmental orders rezoning the property accordingly on June 16, 1986. Within 30 days after the two development orders were entered, the Gregorys filed a three-count complaint against the City. Count I, seeking injunctive and declaratory relief, was brought under Section 163.3215, Florida Statutes (1985),[1] and alleged that the development orders were invalid under Section 163.3194, Florida Statutes (1985),[2] because the city commission and planning commission failed to make the required factual findings regarding consistency with the comprehensive plan adopted by the City of Alachua in *207 February 1981 when the orders were enacted. Count II, also seeking injunctive and declaratory relief, was, as Count I, brought under section 163.3215 and alleged that the development orders were contrary to the provisions of section 163.3194, because the subject properties' revised zoning designations were inconsistent with the comprehensive plan, which had designated the properties as agricultural. Count II further alleged that the orders were inconsistent with certain other provisions of the comprehensive plan, such as economic policies, short-term policies for land use and development and long-term commercial development, among others. Count III was a common law challenge seeking declaratory and injunctive relief under the theory that the two revised zoning designations were arbitrary, unreasonable and had no substantial relation to public health, safety, morals or general welfare.

The City filed a motion to dismiss Counts I and II on the ground that section 163.3215 only grants relief from development orders which are not consistent with comprehensive plans adopted under chapter 163 and that no relief was available under section 163.3215, because the City's comprehensive plan was not adopted pursuant to chapter 163. The City also moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of standing. Thereafter the Spencers sought and were granted the right to intervene in the action as party defendants, and they in turn joined in the City's motions; the defendants withdrew their motion to dismiss Counts I and II, and the court denied their motion to dismiss for lack of standing.

The matter was set for nonjury trial. The Gregorys subsequently agreed not to pursue Counts II and III relating to the rezoning orders' inconsistency with the comprehensive plan and their arbitrariness and lack of relation with public health, safety or welfare. Therefore, the issues to be tried were set forth in the order of pretrial compliance as follows:

1. Whether the records before the City Commission must reflect presentation of substantial competent evidence supporting a finding made of record of consistency of the zoning action with the comprehensive plan?
2. Whether the records before the City Commission in this case in fact reflect presentation of substantial competent evidence supporting whether the zoning action was consistent with the comprehensive plan?
3. If the records before the City Commission in fact are silent on such evidence, whether the zoning action is automatically inconsistent with the comprehensive plan?
4. Whether the Plaintiffs are "aggrieved or adversely affected parties" with regards to the commercially-zoned property?

Although there appeared to be a misunderstanding between the judge and the attorneys regarding the issues to be tried,[3]*208 the matter proceeded to trial on the above-stated issues. The evidence presented consisted of the testimony of several city commissioners and officials regarding their actions and considerations and an expert who testified that the record did not contain sufficient evidence to support a finding of consistency with the City's comprehensive plan. The trial judge thereafter made the following findings:

1. This is an action under § 163.3215, Florida Statutes (1986) [sic] to have the City of Alachua zoning ordinances numbers 0-86-13 and 0-86-16 declared invalid as being inconsistent with the City's Comprehensive Plan.
2. The Plaintiffs bear the burden of proof to show by competent substantial evidence that the City's actions being challenged are inconsistent with the City's Comprehensive Plan.
3. The Plaintiffs have not met their burden.

Based upon the foregoing findings, judgment was rendered on September 24, 1987, in the defendants' favor. Although the Gregorys timely petitioned for clarification of the judgment, their motion was denied and this appeal was instituted.

Although we find that only consistency challenges may be brought under section 163.3215, and that the Gregorys failed to show that the orders were not consistent with the comprehensive plan adopted by the City, we do not believe that such conclusions mandate affirmance of the trial court's order.[4] This is so because, while the complaint states that it is brought under section 163.3215, the pleadings were *209 impliedly amended to seek relief in the form of appellate review, and such issue was in effect tried by consent. See Di Teodoro v. Lazy Dolphin Dev. Co., 418 So.2d 428, 429 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982), review denied, 427 So.2d 737 (Fla. 1983) ("When an issue is tried by implied consent, that issue can be treated in all respects as if it had been raised in the pleadings."); Ford Motor Co. v. Hill, 381 So.2d 249 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979), certified question answered and decision approved, 404 So.2d 1049 (Fla. 1981) (although original complaint did not allege strict liability count, the issue was tried by implied consent of all parties).

In the instant case, the issues framed in the order of pretrial compliance clearly indicate that the matter was to be tried via appellate review. See, e.g., City of Deerfield Beach v. Vaillant, 419 So.2d 624, 626 (Fla. 1982) (circuit court, in reviewing administrative action, must "determine whether procedural due process is accorded, whether the essential requirements of the law have been observed, and whether the administrative findings and judgment are supported by competent substantial evidence."). See also Battaglia Fruit Co. v. City of Maitland, 530 So.2d 940, 944 (Fla. 5th DCA), cause dismissed, 537 So.2d 568 (Fla.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
553 So. 2d 206, 1989 WL 128068, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gregory-v-city-of-alachua-fladistctapp-1989.